The earliest European settlers to North America recorded indigenous peoples’ use of fire for clearing land, hunting and gathering activities, and in warfare. However, post-Columbus settlers did not understand fire as a natural process, and sought to suppress fire wherever it occurred because wildfires destroyed their crops, homes, and trees they needed for homes. In addition, the huge increase in human traffic brought on by late 19th Century immigration brought new human activity to these areas, meaning more human ignition sources were introduced to previously sparsely populated areas. This created one of the most devastating wildfire periods in American history – the great fires of the 1880’s.

The number and intensity of wildfires in this decade were so vast, scientist Stephen Pyne referred to it as, “The Great Barbecue.” The Great Peshtigo fire occurred on October 8, 1871 (same night as the Chicago Fire) and raged throughout Northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. This fire destroyed the town of Peshtigo, killing between 1200 and 2500 people and burning more than 1.2 million acres. Many other huge wildfires occurred, caused by both lightning and humans. Because people wanted their lives and property to be protected, putting out wildfires of any cause became the norm.

As early as the 1930’s, and even before, land managers in the southeastern United States began arguing for the return of more natural fire regimes. Other fire-dependent areas were equally in need of fire, but had few advocates. While few could argue, then or now, that the suppression and prevention of extreme fire was not appropriate, few were arguing that the focus should be on maintenance of natural fire occurrences. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 and the fire season of 2000 began to shift public perspective and opened a revised chapter in wildland fire history. Ecosystems that were once dependent on fire to thin the forest canopy and cultivate the forest floor have been transformed, while sunlight-dependent native plant species have been overtaken by those that like shade.

The net effect is that fire suppressed ecosystems become less diverse, denser with overgrowth, and littered with dead plant material. By reintroducing fire into fire dependent ecosystems in a controlled setting, we can recreate the effects of natural fire, give balance back to fire-dependent communities, and prevent the catastrophic losses of uncontrolled, unwanted wildfire. Fire teams can use controlled burns/prescribed fires when and where doing so will safely reduce the amount of fuel for fires. Fire teams can also decide to allow fires caused by lightning to continue to burn in areas that will not affect the safety of people while reducing fuels. In certain fire dependent ecosystems, periodic fire normally burns off ground litter (needles, leaves, dead wood) and maintains native plant species, many of which depend upon fire for their livelihood.

Is Smokey wrong? – No.

Remember Smokey’s ABCs: Always Be Careful with fire. Smokey wants people to be responsible when they use fire. Fire has many uses, and Smokey wants you to be trained in the proper ways to use fire. It is still wrong and irresponsible to play with matches, leave fires unattended, throw lighted cigarettes away, or use equipment without proper spark arrestors. Mother Nature always knows best and in spite of our best efforts she will prevail and the forests will burn with or without our help. Let Nature take its course and help support more housekeeping fires under controlled conditions to reduce the risk of a catastrophic wildfire in your backyard. For more information about controlled housekeeping fires contact your local Georgia Forestry Commission office, local US Forest Service office or Frank Riley, Executive Director, Chestatee/Chattahoochee RC&D Council at info.ccrcd@gmail.com.

The Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network (SBR FLN) will hold their annual meeting in Hiawassee on May 16th thru 18th. The SBR FLN is a gathering of natural resource managers who are dedicated to bringing fire back into our mountain environment. Fire is a natural phenomenon that has occurred in our forests since the beginning of time and will continue long after we are gone no matter how hard we try to prevent it. The Firewise and Fire Adapted programs don’t try to prevent fire, but educate people who live in the wildland areas on how to prepare and protect their property from the out-of-control wildfire that is coming to their backyard one day.

Partners in the SBR FLN collaborate to develop, share and apply the best available science to restore fire across a vast, diverse region. Partners and stakeholders work in teams in the network’s eight landscapes to set and achieve restoration goals in their fire-adapted pine and oak forests. Vegetation maps, models and tools developed by partners help build a cohesive vision and description of restoration needs. Landscape teams have adapted a regional treatment prioritization tool and applied it locally, with each learning from other landscapes’ work.

The SBR FLN has also collaborated with the Cherokee National Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, the Central Appalachians Fire Learning Network and LANDFIRE to adapt LANDFIRE models to this region. The models, along with a LiDAR-based forest structure analysis and the vegetation maps, have been used to estimate the loss of current vegetation from historic conditions across the National Forests of North Carolina. This information is informing forest planning and National Environmental Policy Analysis (NEPA) projects in several landscapes. Fire history research on three SBR FLN landscapes is shaping prescribed fire regimes. Evidence that fire historically played a role in maintaining these forests—which are changing, due to almost a century of fire suppression—is also being used to build wider support for the use of controlled fire.

Partnership burns across multiple ownerships have become common in most landscapes, and more are planned for the coming year. Partly as a result of the last SBR regional workshop in Johnson City, Tennessee, state agencies in North and South Carolina are discussing collaborative burning across state lines for the first time. A network of monitoring plots established by Forest Stewards enables partners to track the effectiveness of management actions. Consistent, long-term monitoring is essential, since it can take years—and multiple treatments—for the full impact of fire in hardwoods to become evident. The second comprehensive assessment using these data was recently completed, and will be used to inform planning for future burns and other restoration work.

The Fire Learning Network is supported by Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together (PERFACT), a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, the USDA Forest Service and agencies of the Department of the Interior. This FLN has helped build the foundation of the Joint Fire Science Program’s Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists, and continues to play a key role in providing opportunities for networking among scientists, managers and practitioners. This accelerates transfer of knowledge and feedback that supports adaptive management. Well-attended workshops, (they cut this year’s meeting attendance off at 100 with a waiting list) collaborative projects, and tools shared by webinar and other means have helped the SBR FLN build strong working partnerships. These, in turn, support the steady growth of the network, most recently with the addition of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains landscape. This landscape brings a new dimension to the SBR FLN, as it includes Towns County, a member of the Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Learning Network. For more information on SBR FLN go to: www.nature.org or contact Frank Riley – Executive Director, Chestatee/Chattahoochee RC&D Council at info.ccrcd@gmail.com.

Spring is the time for us to emerge from our winter hibernation and start cleaning our yards to get rid of all the debris, leaves, limbs, and pine straw that has collected since last fall. The usual method to do this is to pile it in the yard, light a match and watch it burn. While this debris burning is easy, quick, and smells good, it is also very hazardous for our houses. All it takes is one spark from the burn pile to fly up and land on the roof and you can be the object of a 911 call which brings red rucks with flashing lights and water hoses. A flying, burning ember from your burning pile can travel up to a mile with the right wind and land where it is not detected and cause a fire that you or your neighbor may not be aware of until it’s too late.

Debris burning is Georgia’s #1 cause of wildfire, and it accounts for over 50 percent of all wildfires in the state and burning yard leaf piles is the most common cause of these wildfires. All debris burning requires a burn permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) with the exception of agricultural fields or pastures, which require GFC notification. The burning of household garbage is prohibited and not permitted by the GFC. A major cause of debris burn wildfires is not obtaining a permit and burning with improper weather conditions. Permits are obtained by calling your local GFC county office or dialing 1-877-OK2-BURN. It’s free and only takes minutes.

Fires should not be initiated before 8:00 a.m. and should be completely extinguished before dark. Burning permits are for Hand Piled Natural Vegetation and existing small garden spots only, including leaf piles on the premises where they fell, existing small clearings to plant vegetables and flower gardens, vegetative debris disposal from storm damage, weed abatement, and disease and or pest prevention. This permit does not include the burning of debris generated by machine clearing of an area for establishing a garden spot or other clearings. If your unpermitted fire gets out and damages your neighbor’s house, you can be held liable, or if it burns your house, your insurance company may not pay, but if you have a permit, you are off the hook. You can also be held responsible for suppression costs if you cause a wildfire and do not have a permit…. bulldozers, hot shot crews, and air tankers do not come cheap! So, think before you burn and get a permit, even for a small leaf pile in your yard. It’s the cheapest insurance policy you can get.

Here are Smokey’s Safe Debris burning tips:

Comply with Local Regulations – Contact GFC in advance to confirm that burning is allowed and to find out if permits are being issued that day.

The call must be made on the day you plan to burn and is only good for that day.

You must call each day you plan to burn.

Choose a Safe Burning Site – A safe site will be far away from power lines, overhanging limbs, buildings, automobiles, and equipment.

It will have vertical clearance at least three times the height of the pile, as heat from the fire extends far past the actual flames that you see.

It will have horizontal clearance twice the height of the debris pile.

Check the Weather Forecast – Weather fluctuations, such as sudden gusts of wind, could make debris burning spark a wildfire.

Contact the GFC on the day you plan to burn to find out if the weather is safe enough to burn, and if it is not they will not issue a permit.

Prepare the Site Correctly – The ground around the burn site should be surrounded by gravel or dirt for at least ten feet in all directions.

Keep the surrounding area watered down during the burn.

Remain With your Fire – Most Important! Stay with your fire until it is completely out.

To ensure the fire has been completely extinguished, drown the fire with water, turn over the ashes with a shovel and drown it again.

Repeat several times.

Check the burn area regularly over the next several days and up to several weeks following the burn, especially if the weather is warm, dry, and windy.

I once burned a large debris pile (with notification), and covered it with dirt to put it out at the end of the day, we had several rains, and 6 weeks later when I uncovered the mound, it still had fire inside so you must monitor it until you are completely sure that the fire is out.

Keep it Legal – It is illegal to burn plastic, tires, and most other waste products not from a tree or shrub.

It is illegal to burn any kind of building materials including lumber and the debris can only be natural material.

For more information on debris burning, burn permits, and wildfires, contact your local Georgia Forestry Commission office at (706) 781-2398, the US Forest Service district office at (706) 781-2593, your local fire department or Frank Riley, Executive Director, Chestatee/Chattahoochee RC&D council at (706) 894-1591 or email info.ccrcd@gmail.com.

]]>http://appcofac.org/smokeys-tips-for-safe-debris-burning/feed/0Things to Know About Wildfire in the South (infographic)http://appcofac.org/things-to-know-about-wildfire-in-the-south-infographic/
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 17:26:44 +0000http://appcofac.org/?p=26087

For more information about Wildfires in the South, visit USDA Forest Service, Region 8 at www.fs.usda.gov/r8.

These days wildfire flames consume many of the earth’s forests more frequently than ever before. Now, a study from Princeton University suggests that trees in traditionally fire-prone areas have a competitive edge for survival: thicker bark, which helps shield their stems from growing conflagrations. Scientists combined data to compare 572 species of trees: where they live, their bark thickness, and how often fires occur in their area. Researchers found that bark is, on average, three times thicker in savannas where fires are a natural part of the ecosystem than in forests. In other words, savanna trees have adapted to cope with their surroundings. “It’s a big step forward in our understanding of the biogeography of fire and plant species,” says a bioclimatologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Identifying fire-resistant traits in trees is key to predicting whether a species will withstand any climate change or other man-made destruction. Increasingly hot, dry weather makes some regions more flammable, while deforestation and land development regularly expose forests to fire. The frequency of wildfires in the American West between 1970 and 1986, for example, nearly quadrupled over the following 16 years, per published studies. Many regions are expected to get worse.

The study is saying, ‘OK, where are we going to have more fires, and which trees are prepared for dealing with those fires?’ But a tree’s thick bark is kind of like an oven mitt, it only protects up to a point. Even thick-bark trees could die if their forests are set ablaze more often than they can handle. “The caveat is, let’s say you take a particular species and you start to expose it to more frequent fires. It won’t necessarily change its investment in bark over a few decades, according the study by scientists with NOAA working on climate and global change.

In rain forests, tree species could be especially vulnerable. Their trees typically have thin bark, since fire-resistant traits weren’t traditionally needed. These climate scientists conclude that when you start to burn an area where the species don’t contain adaptations to tolerate fire, you’re going to see a large amount of tree death. The study concludes that this is not just a bark thickness story, but it’s a story about how we’re seeing huge changes in fire now. and that it’s certain that large-scale tree loss would threaten entire ecosystems. But for now, scientists are at least one step closer to predicting how the earth will fare under growing pressures. This study is just one more reason to encourage more prescribed burning in our forests.

Prescribed burning is the best and most efficient tool that foresters and fire professionals can use to reduce the risks of destructive wildfires, improve wildlife habitat, improve water quality, enhance forest growth, and create healthier forests for all to enjoy. Prescribed burning is a process where fire is intentionally set in a forest (by professionals) under controlled conditions and at a time when weather conditions are optimum for smoke dispersal, proper fire spread, and safety for fire crews and surrounding Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. Prescribed fire is proven to reduce the risk of destructive wildfires, because this fire reduces fuel that a Wildfire needs to grow, spread, and destroy everything in its path.

Most of us would much rather watch fire professionals managing a controlled fire around in the forest with the smoke going up and away than having to flee in panic ahead of an advancing wildfire front heading toward our house with nothing anybody can do to stop it! When you see smoke from a controlled burn in our surrounding forests, don’t be annoyed about the brief smoke from the fire, but be glad that all the benefits from this controlled burn will much outweigh the consequences of an out of control wildfire running roughshod through the forests destroying trees, wildlife, streams, and buildings, and anything in its path. Native Americans and our settler ancestors would burn the forests frequently for all the benefits mentioned above.

Smokey Bear said fire was bad many years ago, and we believed him so it put the skids on fires that kept our forests healthy and now our forests have built up fuel just waiting to host the next big ONE that is coming our way one day. It’s not IF but WHEN one will strike! Take heed from the Gatlinburg, Rough Ridge, and Rock Ridge, fires, to name a few, that we experienced last fall, It Can Happen Here! That was our wake-up call, listen to it!

For more information on fire in our forests and prevention measures, contact Frank Riley, Executive Director, Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC&D council at info.ccrcd@gmail.com.

Emmitsburg, MD, March 10, 2003 — The National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute comprise FEMAs National Emergency Training Center, a beautiful campus located in Emmitsburg, Md.Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA News Photo

A CWPP is designed through collaboration between state and local fire agencies, homeowners, and interested stakeholders. The plan implements the community’s values and serves to protect natural and community resources and public safety. Planning also enables communities to address their development patterns in the Wildland Urban Interface and determine how they can reduce their risk through alternative development patterns. The plan includes prioritized recommendations for the appropriate types and methods of fuel reduction and structure ignitability reduction that will protect the community’s essential infrastructure.

Specifically, the plan includes community-centered actions that will:

Educate citizens on wildfire, and ways to protect lives and property;

Support fire rescue and suppression entities;

Focus on collaborative decision-making and citizen participation;

and Develop and implement effective mitigation strategies.

CWPP plans are updated approximately every five years in conjunction with the county Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) provided communities with a tremendous opportunity to influence where and how federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal lands.

For more than a decade, Congress has made the protection of communities from wildfire a national priority. Yet, since the establishment of the National Fire Plan (2000) and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA 2003) the issues regarding deteriorating health of our forests and the need for greater community protection from wildfire are still prominent. Fire suppression costs have exceeded $1 billion in recent fire seasons so communities, interest groups, and land management agencies must continue to express their concerns to Congress regarding mounting risks to life, property, and the environment. A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is the most effective way to take advantage of this opportunity. Additionally, communities with Community Wildfire Protection Plans in place will be given priority for funding of hazardous fuels reduction projects carried out under the auspices of the HFRA. Fires are usually costlier to suppress in the wildland-urban interface – the areas where homes are intermixed with forests and wildlands. Debris burning in the WUI is the most frequent human cause of wildfires, but these human-caused fires can be prevented and the excessive cost of fire suppression reduced. The first step in wildfire prevention education is to raise awareness of the responsibilities of living in a fire-prone environment.

The CWPP collaborative process is effective in improving coordination and communication between emergency response agencies and the community. The goal of protecting communities and natural resources from wildfire cannot be accomplished by any one person or entity so we must work together to identify and pursue a pathway to success thru collaboration. Collaboration is simply people working together to address a shared problem that no one of them could effectively resolve alone. Each participant brings to the effort knowledge, skills, ideas, and resources, and these decision-makers need to stay actively engaged throughout the collaborative process, and the other participants need to know what the collaborative group’s “decision space” is and how much weight its recommendations will carry with the decision-makers.

The use of a collaborative process is one of the requirements that Congress established for a CWPP. Developing and adopting a CWPP opens the door to significant local community benefits, including being able to:

1) define and set the boundaries of the community’s WUI;

2) identify and prioritize areas for hazardous fuel-reduction treatments on USFS lands in the WUI;

3) recommend the types and methods of treatment to be used; and

4) influence how federal funds for projects on non-federal WUI lands may be obtained.

Additionally, the collaboration should stimulate or strengthen local efforts to reduce structural ignitability, enhance emergency management and communication, and foster public education and action to reduce wildfire risk to life and property. Perhaps most importantly, collaborative processes help build trust and good working relationships among the participants. Effective collaboration ensures that all bases are covered in the planning process, that potential problems or roadblocks are identified and dealt with, and that good use is made of available time and money. It builds strong local support for the CWPP. Getting and Keeping People engaged with the process is important to keep the process moving toward developing the emergency plan.

Our local Firewise/FAC Citizen’s Coalitions that have been developed in recent years are the collaborative group that makes this happen and creates among the members a sense of ownership that takes the process to the people to protect them from wildfire. For more information on CWPP contact Frank Riley, Executive Director, Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC&D Council at info.ccrcd@gmail.com.

]]>How a Retired Firefighter Saved His Home and Life in the Gatlinburg Wildfirehttp://appcofac.org/how-a-retired-firefighter-saved-his-home-and-life-in-the-gatlinburg-wildfire/
Fri, 23 Dec 2016 17:16:29 +0000http://appcofac.org/?p=26072

The following is first-hand testimony from a retired firefighter who survived the Gatlinburg fire because he had “Firewised” the home in anticipation of the fire that he knew would come eventually, and it finally happened on November 28th:

The fire blazed all about him with a bush an inch from a 1,000-gallon propane tank flaming like a torch. David Loveland had just a hoe and a leaf blower; but, because he had spent years preparing for this wildfire, he also had a chance. On the evening of November 28th his wildfire knowledge likely saved his life and that of his wife, Kathaleen.

The couple lived on a steep hill near Pigeon Forge. The next morning, four houses were still standing and more than 20 were burned down. That Loveland’s home was one of the four is not happenstance. Loveland knew that he should have been long gone when the fire hit, but the television news that evening had indicated “there was nothing burning in town”. So, the couple stayed for a while longer until they went outside and noticed the ridge above their home in the direction of Gatlinburg was on fire. They also spotted flying embers streaking overhead. The couple got in the car and headed out the winding, narrow road only to find the way blocked by a tree that had fallen across it so they went back home. There was already no way out and the fire was just getting started. Homes dotting the top of the ridge were already ablaze, and residences below them were also on fire. A tree limb fell over the power lines, knocking out electricity to their home.

Kathaleen raced about the home trying to get important items and documents together. He had a backup generator, but had a problem with it that he didn’t know about until then. He had only the water pressure that was left in the hose, and needed that to protect the propane tank. That left Loveland with a leaf blower with three batteries, a hoe, and a powerless water hose. But, he was prepared and for 10 years he had been working to clear the brush on his property pulling dead branches and bushes away. His goal was to clear all three acres, but he hadn’t gotten to the ridge yet, the difference between the uncleared ridge and the cleared area was significant after the fire.

He had been trying to reduce the fuel-loading in the woods, and was trying to keep open space clear around the house. Mr. Loveland said, “We are bound to get a fire at some point; and, when it happens, I wanted to do everything I could do to reduce the intensity.” His simple labor-intensive strategy saved the couple’s lives. “I am convinced it gave us a chance,” he said. “Without having done this, it would not have mattered. Our house would just be one more foundation left out here.” The burned areas a few yards from his doorstep indicate just how close the fire was to sending the whole place up. “I would be working in the back to blow away hot spots, then I would have to dash to the front and there would be two feet of leaves blown across the front of the house. “Then it was back to the back to get the hot spots.” It went on that way for hours. Kathaleen was outside spotting trouble on one side of the house while David was hard at work on the other. “I don’t think I ever got to a point of despair,” he said. “I was too focused on the task I had to do at that second. I realized if the house burnt, we were probably not going to make it. So, suddenly I had a whole lot of adrenaline and a whole lot of incentive to put out every hot spot.” He pushed a stack of firewood down a hill to get it farther away from his home. He said a rain so light “it barely got my shirt wet” came around 11:30 p.m., and he could sit in a lawn chair to rest. He had received a call from a neighbor who was out of town and wanted to know about his place. Loveland could walk to the foundation that was left of that residence and send his neighbor a picture of the bad news. Then it was back to work as the sprinkle left and the fire did not. At about 4 a.m. a more substantial rain came, giving Loveland a chance to sleep.

The string of houses on the ridge burnt to the ground as were houses down the side of the hill leading to the Spur below him. A burnt skeleton of a car sat next to the spot where the tree had fallen that had blocked the road preventing their escape. “They apparently tried to get out after we did,” he said. He said one neighbor had just finished having some trees cleared, but the cut trees had not been moved off the property. The home was the first to burn to the ground. The 17,000-acre blaze should be a lesson for people as they rebuild here. He said “the possibility of the fire happening again is very real”. “It is part of living in a wild land,” he said. “You are just going to have to accept the fact that leaf litter burns”. “You are living in an area that is available to burn regularly with the leaf litter that falls each year.

Mr. Loveland can testify that home preparation using Firewise principles work and can save your home and your life!

I have been telling you for several years that it’s not a matter of IF a wildfire will happen in your neighborhood but WHEN!

WHEN finally came to our area recently with the Rock Mountain fire near Tate City and in the Upper Hightower Creek area. Even though most of us didn’t have wildfire directly around our houses, we could smell and see the smoke from a big fire right here in Towns county. When conditions are like they were, Firewise (Ready) preparations can help, but Set & Go are our only options to take. In fact, when conditions are like that, GO is our only option. If you are not Ready or Set by then it’s too late for planning, so Go somewhere to get out of harm’s way. The problem with this is everybody else in the neighborhood is also trying to get out and Go somewhere which creates traffic jams and accidents. Getting trapped in a traffic jam with smoke and fire rushing toward your car is not a good place to be because nobody can rescue you and you are stuck with all the other folks who waited too late to Go. It is very important to choose a pre-determined destination to gather and meet with friends and family so everybody can be accounted for. This will keep rescue personnel from having to go back to your home to look for someone who is somewhere else. Don’t wait for the next fire, get READY now because it will happen again, be Firewise, and be on guard for changing conditions.

The recent Rock Mountain fire started in Rabun county and moved around Tate City into the Upper Hightower Creek area and was contained on US Forest Service lands. Thanks to hard work by the 679 Forest Service firefighters from all over the country, the fire was stopped before it could do damage to private property in Towns County, although Towns County’s finest were staged and on alert all during the incident in case it came out of the forest. The fire continued to burn into North Carolina and back to Rabun County. After heavy downpours in the North Georgia mountains the fires were 63% contained on December 1st. The USFS estimates that the fires will be 100% contained on December 15th. As of December 1st, the fire had torched 24,725 acres with approximately 12,962 acres in Georgia and 11,763 acres in North Carolina that includes 11,111 acres in Rabun County, 1,851 in Towns County, with 3,860 in Clay County and 7,903 in Macon County. The preliminary cost estimate for suppression is somewhere around $10 million. The rain helped pause these fires to give the suppression personnel a short break, but without sufficient amounts and timely rainfall for the next few weeks, the drought conditions and fire danger will continue because without significant amounts of more rain this fire could happen again because logs, dead trees and stumps continue to hold heat and can reignite leaves at any point and all it will take is wind, a hot ember, and a dry place for it to land and there it goes again.

Last week, the Chimney Tops 2 fire blew up near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. With historically bone dry conditions, low humidity, and hurricane like winds, the folks in Gatlinburg didn’t have a chance no matter what they had done to be Ready and Set so the only option they had was Go. If only they could Go along with everybody else in town and their nightmare only got worse with the traffic jams. The fire threatened, damaged, or destroyed many of the resorts in and around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, with 7 confirmed fatalities and over 700 confirmed structures lost (as of December 1st). The Chimney Tops 2 Fire started in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg with the wildfire burning in a remote location of the park in steep terrain with vertical cliffs and narrow rocky ridges making access to the wildfire area difficult for firefighting efforts. On Monday, November 27th, continuous exceptional drought conditions and extreme winds (80 mph) caused the wildfire to grow rapidly, causing numerous new wildfire starts from embers carried miles away and downed powerlines in and adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As of December 1, the burned area covered 17,108 acres, with minimal containment at that time. The wildland incident resources were 9 crews, 20 engines, 7 helicopters, 4 dozers, 285 total personnel with more being mobilized from other fires to try to contain this very destructive wildfire. Structure protection was by local fire departments.

Chimney Tops 2 and Rock Mountain fires are both determined to be human-caused and are currently under investigation. Let these fires be a very loud wake-up call for all of us. It DID happen here and WILL happen here again! So be Firewise and practice Ready-Set-Go.

Our North Georgia and Western North Carolina mountain views have become smoky and hazy these days, and on Code Red days we’re told to stay inside, run our ACs, and breathe filtered air. At this time, dozens of fires throughout WNC and North Georgia have burned more than 80,000 acres of forest since mid-October. Among the largest are the Tellico fire, Maple Springs fire, Boteler fire, Party Rock fire, Rock Ridge fire, and Cahutta wilderness fire.

From the standpoint of ecology, fire is a long-overdue natural process on many mountain slopes, and these fires will benefit an array of species. But these fires are a prime example that there can be too much of a good thing. These wildfires burn fast, and are difficult to fight. They come at a time of extreme drought, when weather conditions push and hold the smoke around our mountain valleys. Businesses that depend on tourism and outdoor recreationalists are suffering. Homes are being evacuated. While arson is suspected to be the direct cause, unprecedented dry weather conditions have created conditions for wildfires of a size not seen in generations. In WNC and North Georgia, locations from Marion, NC westward are experiencing the warmest and driest autumn on record, with only 1.3 inches of rain since August 21st. This will likely be the driest 90-day period on record for the region, and there is no end in sight. Long-range weather forecasts predict dry weather until at least mid-December, and without significant snow or rain, the fire danger will continue deep into the winter.

Because of the sheer quantity of fire, and the weather conditions they are burning in, the smoke is staying close to the ground and causing major health impacts. Code-red air quality days have been called around the region from Atlanta to Kentucky. Code-red means that it is not safe for anyone particularly elderly, children, and those with breathing ailments, to be outside for extended periods. As the season progresses, even fires that have little activity could flare back up as dry, falling leaves drop onto smoldering hot-spots.

Ironically, another part of the problem is that there hasn’t been enough of the right kind of fire. The Paddy’s Creek fire on the western side of Linville Gorge hasn’t gotten nearly as much press, and with good reason. That fire started on October 25th and was completely contained two days later. The blaze started from an abandoned campfire and spread into the woods. Fortunately, those woods have had several controlled burns as part of the Grandfather Restoration Project, a collaborative project that MountainTrue and dozens of other organizations helped to found in 2012. The Paddy’s Creek fire was held to just 11 acres despite the steep and rugged terrain because controlled burns decreased fuel loads.

The fires that are raging through our region now are so difficult to stop in part because they are moving through dry, dense vegetation that hasn’t burned in 50 – 100 years. Another benefit of controlled burns is that they are planned in weather conditions where smoke is lifted high into the atmosphere. This fire season should be a wake-up call. The frequency and severity of droughts and wildfires are sure to increase. People are generally adaptable, and our communities can adapt to the changing conditions if we take collective action. On our public lands, efforts like the Grandfather NC Restoration Project show a way forward. By returning fire to the mountain slopes and ridges where it was historically common before we started suppressing it, we can reduce dangerous fuel loads and improve plant communities and wildlife habitat at the same time.

Communities must become “Firewise” by adopting building and landscaping practices that reduce the risk of fire to our homes, and discouraging construction and development where fire risks are high – steep slopes, dry ridges, and rocky areas. It is extremely difficult to fight fire on steep slopes, and when firefighters attempt to save homes in steep terrain it puts their lives in jeopardy. There is a growing awareness that we need to live within our means and maintain an appropriate relationship with the natural world. If we don’t plan for the changes ahead, the next drought will be worse: bigger crop failures, more severe fires, more economic losses and mounting human suffering. If we don’t prepare, we have no one to blame but ourselves. The scale of the problem demands a collective response. We can all do our part by continually maintaining our property to reduce the risk of wildfire which will minimize property damage when a wildfire approaches.

We have been telling you for years that it’s not a matter of IF a wildfire happens but WHEN and the when is now. Are you prepared for the approaching wildfire that could be just over the ridge and headed your way!

Are you Firewise?

For more information on Firewise and other wildfire preparation programs, contact Frank Riley, Executive Director, Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC&D Council at info.ccrcd@gmail.com.

For the past 4 or 5 years, the Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC&D Council has been working with local emergency agencies in several counties in Northeast Georgia to create emergency plans to handle the fires that we have been telling you would happen sooner or later and now those fires are here. Maybe not in our backyards, but close enough to get our attention. With the unprecedented dry weather conditions that we are experiencing now we could very well have one in our backyard, all it will take is one match or spark from many sources. We had a fire last week caused by a squirrel on a power line. It only takes one small spark to start a raging inferno that can destroy ours and our neighbors stuff. Don’t be the cause of a disaster, throw your matches away, carefully!

Several counties here in the mountains have proclaimed a total burn ban that does not allow ANY type of open flame outside, not even charcoal grills. We haven’t seen these conditions in our lifetimes and we want to survive this one with everything intact so again we must be extra careful with any kind of spark or flame. Fires have been started by catalytic convertors on our cars too close to dry grass, squirrels on power lines, trailer safety chains dragging on the road, campfires, grills, and many other ignition sources that we normally would not worry about, but now is the time to worry about them.

When severe wildland fire situations occur because of extreme fire weather, wildland fires can cause extensive loss of life, property, and resources. As extreme conditions approach or worsen, wildland fire prevention and education is an excellent source of help. Because fire weather conditions are predictable, wildland fire prevention and education teams can be mobilized in advance of fires, when fire danger becomes extreme. National Forests in the Southern Region have utilized the skills of fire prevention teams for many years. Prevention/education teams are available to support any geographic area preceding and during periods of high fire danger or fire activity. Agencies in a threatened area may request a fire prevention team to come in ahead of a fire and work with residents to prepare them for what is coming at them or prepare them for changing conditions that could lead to disaster in their community.

Purpose of wildland fire prevention education teams:

Teams assist the local unit in the prevention of unwanted human-caused wildfires. This involves working together to:

• complete fire risk assessments and develop fire protection plans

• determine the severity of the situation

• facilitate community awareness and education in fire prevention

• coordinate announcement of interagency restrictions and closures

• coordinate fire prevention efforts with the public, special target groups, state and local agencies, and elected officials

• promote public and personal responsibility regarding fire prevention in the wildland/urban interface

• assist Incident Management Teams in accomplishing their objectives in working with the public

Mobilization of A Team May occur when an unusual event of circumstance warrants or is predicted:

Examples are:

• severe burning conditions

• unusually high fire occurrence

• majority of firefighting resources committed

• preparedness levels above normal

Benefits of Wildland Fire Prevention Education Teams:

• reduce the loss of life

• reduce resource and property losses

• reduce the cost of suppression

• improve inter-agency relations

Organization and Ordering:

A team consists of a Team Leader, a Public Affairs Officer, Prevention Specialist(s), and an optional trainee or other team members as the situation dictates (Finance Officer, Logistics Specialist, etc.). Trained interagency personnel can be mobilized through normal dispatch channels to assist in fire prevention/education at any level of an organization. The individuals ordered for prevention/education teams must already have the skills required to fill the position for which they have been chosen because there is usually not time for training.

Wildland Fire Prevention and Education Teams usually go on 14-day assignments and work in the community for 14 straight days. A lot of their activities are at night or on weekends when people are available to gather and listen to their message. There is currently a team here in Northeast Georgia presenting the Firewise message to schools, civic clubs, elected officials, fire departments, church groups and any others who will listen. When people are threatened with an impending disaster that might take away all their possessions or even their life, they need someone to tell them how to prepare to get of harm’s way and where they can go. This is where a Wildland Fire Prevention and Education team can be invaluable because they have seen these things before and know what to tell the residents to be prepared for.